Youth Guidance and Direction: Taking Holden’s Growth as an Example in The Catcher in the Rye

Qin He *

School of Foreign Languages Wuhan University of Science and Technology

Wuhan, China 764414932@qq.com

Jin Yu School of Foreign Languages

Wuhan University of Science and Technology Wuhan, China

8706772@qq.com

Abstract—Initiation, as a universal human phenomenon and an important individual experience in one’s life, has increasingly exerted a significant influence on this impetuous society. The Catcher in the Rye written by the famous American writer J. D. Salinger, tells of a influential initiation story on the exploration of Holden’s loneliness, depression and helplessness in growth and offers a key to the door of the youth initiation. We all shall go through the same annoyance and confusion as Holden, however, we would cope with various attitude and performances. This paper attempts to explore adolescent growth problem by considering the corespondent measures taken by family, school and society. Besides, Holden’s three-day journey to be the clue and youth literature to be the basis. What’s more, it tries to provide the guidance of youth with all adolescents aiming at solving their problems in growth.

Keywords—initiation story, youth literature, youth problems, education, growth

I. INTRODUCTION Jerome David Salinger was an American novelist. He was raised in Manhattan in New York City in 1919, the son of a

prosperous importer of meat and cheese. He was a mediocre student in the public school and after he flunked out of the private McBurney School, his parents sent him to Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania. Later, he entered the New York University less than a month and learned a short-story course at Columbia University. From 1940 to 1941, he has published four short stories in Storymagazine. During the Second World War, he began serving in the Army, and when he got back to New York, he had stories published in various periodicals, notably The New Yorker.

Salinger won his instant popular success from the first and the only novel ―The Catcher in the Rye in 1951. The simple novel’s plot is narrated by the sixteen-year-old boy. He is expelled from his school for fourth times, so that he wanders desperately in New York. During his three-day journey, he truly gets familiar with the society in which he lives and experiences, and he is aware of the phoniness, duplicity and obscenity of the adult. The novel describes vividly the disgust, vulgarity and despair―which all Holden has suffered on his way to adulthood. Finally, Holden manages to integrate the adult world and finds his new role in society to behave as a mature man. In 1953, a high school newspaper interviewed Salinger that he admitted that the novel was sort of autobiographical. in the novel, he explained his boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book, and he felt relieved to tell people about it [1]. Though the story takes place only three days, it is of the same significance as any masterpiece, for that Holden digresses to reveal things happened long before this period in his life.

Initiation is a universal culture expression in human life as well as a vital experience for individual. Besides, it offers expansive space for literature and turns out an eternal subject in literature [2]. A large amount of critics have already discussed the theme of initiation, to all of us, however, initiation may be the most important and never-ending.

This paper aims at deeply analyzing the youth problems and frustration. Putting the theory of initiation story as the basis, this thesis starts from the characteristics of youth and the initiation story, studies how Holden embodies the adolescent characteristics from his grow-up journey. Through the analysis of the characteristics, this study probes into measures for health initiation in both physically and psychologically. There are few studies on this field, so it has theoretical significance as well as realistic significance. We will make mistakes inevitably in our initiation, but if we want to get a real growth, we should face the fault honestly and fearlessly, which would benefit the growth of youth. Meanwhile, this paper provides some suggestions for teachers and parents, and even the society. In detail, parents should pay more attention to this period children and communicate with them, and then school may explore efficient and handy ways to educate students obtaining their proper key to adulthood. Lastly, the whole society need give the youth the right guide.

II. ADOLESCENT CHARACTERISTICS AND AMERICAN INITIATION STORY When it comes to youth, the first is to talk about adolescence characteristics. And The Catcher in the Rye is an initiation story,

so that it is of great significance for a profound understanding to analyze the development and features of initiation story. The thesis focuses on the subject of initiation in The Catcher in the Rye, thus it will give a brief overview of above all. In particular, it pays more attention to Holden’s initiation characteristics. By analyzing growth of the unique protagonist, it also reflects the common youth features.

2018 8th International Conference on Education, Management, Computer and Society (EMCS 2018)

Copyright © (2018) Francis Academic Press, UK DOI: 10.25236/emcs.2018.101413

A. Adolescent Characteristics. Adolescence is a Latin word and derives from a verb “Adolescere”, which means growing up and being mature. According to

The Theory of the Growth Stages written by the psychologist Eric Eriksson, the age of adults is between 20 to 40 years old, and adolescents between 13 to 19 years old.

The adolescent period represents the most complex and entangling period in life, accompanying a series of changes, such as personal behavior, growth, and many aspects of social relations. These changes range from physical, cognitive and emotional aspects. The teens’ performances in this period are intertwined with rational and irrational, as insane patients [3]. However, it is not abnormal, but quite common. First, to strive for independence and freedom, they rebel against family, school and society, and against others’ attitudes, opinions and advice. Second, they pay too much attention to appearance, and spend a lot of time on keeping their appearance and figure. Third, the friendship attaches great importance to them, and they accompany with their friends nearly all spare time, so that their behavior, appearance and the way they speak and so on are the same with their peers. Just as the saying: One takes the behavior of one's company. Fourth, with the change of physical and sexual development, they get more interested in sex. Hence, they need to learn how to turn the rational guide of sexual desire to the acceptable sexual behavior. Fifth, they are confused about the adult image, so if not satisfied, they will resist and rebel. Sixth, adolescent emotion is in great turmoil. Mood changes quickly, happy one minute and then depressed. Seventh, their attitudes and ideas are elusive. The way that they judge things sometimes is the same, but then quite different. Eighth, they are contradictory, especially when you meet the conflict, they often fail to make a decision, or bravely take responsibility. They always hesitate to do or not. In a word, these unique characteristics of adolescence provide the basic psychological reasons for understanding the youth behaviors.

Holden, a 16-year-old boy, is in his key period. His heart is tortured by the pain of the sorrowful childhood memory and the closed and repressive desire, which forms a physical state of unconscious. Because of the lack of understanding from companions and care from parents, in that period, he feels extremely depressed, lonely, anxiety, and madness, and even thinks of suicide. Through three-day disappointing trip in New York, he tastes hypocrisy, vice, and deception in adult world. And no matter where he goes, “phony” is here and there. So he consciously rebels. Phoebe’s true love wakes up Holden, and he begins to reacquaint the world, ultimately, he gets free from the pain and unconsciousness. Actually, the dream Holden wants to be “a catcher in the rye” shows that he is eager to grow up and live in a more benevolent world [4]. Gradually, Holden becomes mature in spirit and gets well along with the real world.

B. American Initiation Story. In the process of literary development, it first originated in Germany to take the youth growth as a literary genre in the later

eighteenth century. This genre is also called Bildungsroman, which narrates the protagonist’s actual or metaphorical journey from innocence to maturity. Gradually, with the development of the genre, Britain and America use “Initiation story” instead of “Bildungsroman” [5].

Initiation story remains a predominant position in the United States, and becomes the indispensable part of American literature. America is a young country, so they never stop looking for their own identity. The youth generation to generation struggle with the pursuit for their ego identity and position in the society. For things go on like this, the youth growth has become the focus of American literature. At every American historical period, there emerged a large number of masterpieces about the youth pain and hardship for initiation, for instance, Benjamin Franklin’ s Poor Richard’ s Almanac and Autobiography, Hawthorne’ s The Scarlet Letter, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and so on [6].

Through all the initiation masterpieces, there are some unique features in American initiation story. First, it tends to portray protagonist’s inner thought and describe protagonist’s initiation. With the conflict between the individual and the public, the protagonist struggles to know the world and pursues the life goal. Second, the conflicts protagonists usually arise from choosing innocence or maturity, and individuation or socialization. Moreover, the conflict often remains unresolved in the end. American initiation story barely has a happy ending, but often ends with the protagonists in despair or remains open. It offers more imagining space for readers. Third, Americans adore the individual struggle and unique characteristics. They would like to do things by following their own nature. So the theme of American initiation story prefer to be the pursuit of “be your own” rather than getting the psychological maturity by melting into the society. Fifth, the protagonists get a profound impact on seeking self identity under the stresses from society and family. The last but not the least, in the American initiation stories, the protagonists have the common in lacking the care and love of their parents and excluding by the society around them. So in the American initiation story, it often highlights the individual’s rebellion against society and youth wandering [7].

III. THE INITIATION CRISIS OF THE PROTAGONIST The Catcher in the Rye vividly describes Holden’s inner world and thoughts. In this essential period of one’s life, adolescents

badly need their parents’ love, friends or peers’ positive influence and the right guidance from school and society. Otherwise, they will get lost in the complicated and changeable adult world. However, in the novel the protagonist Holden lacks all the love and care above mentioned. He is eager for love and being loved both physically and mentally. So the lost and misunderstanding arouse the initiation crisis. The following thesis will introduce the three aspects about the influence upon Holden, then deepen the novel to explore the reasons and efficient education measures.

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A. The Negative Influence from Family. Holden’s family is quite rich. There are parents, a younger sister and two brothers, his little brother named Allie has died.

Holden’s father is an ambitious lawyer, but in Holden’s view, father is a hypocrite. He firmly believes that his father’s occupation exactly reflects his complicated character. When his sister Phoebe suggests Holden to be a lawyer like their father. Holden answers:

Lawyers are all right, I guess―but it doesn’t appeal to me. I mean they’re all right if they go round saving innocent guys’ lives all the time, and like that, but you don’t do that kind of stuff if you’re a lawyer. All you do is make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink Martinis and look like a hot-shot. And besides. Even if you did go around saving guys’ lives and all, how would you know if you did it because you really wanted to save guys’ lives, or because you did it because what you really wanted to do was be a terrific lawyer, with everybody slapping you on the back and congratulating you in court when the goddam trial was over, the reporters and everybody, the way it is in the dirty movies? How would you know you weren’t being a phony? The trouble is, you wouldn’t. [8] (P190)

Holden’s description of a lawyer is vivid as well as profound, which stems from his impression on his father. As above mentioned, Holden’s father has shown no interest in saving guys’ lives, what he really pursues is continuous wealth and social status, thus he fails to establish a meaningful and harmonious family. Finally, he couldn’t become a good model for his children.

On the other hand, Holden’s mother is a busy “housewife”. Kind, capable and fashionable as she is, she is always engaged in doing her own things and finds no time to take care of her children. She is a bit jangled and sometimes even hysterical. She does not recover from the death of her son Allie. Her nerves are often shot and she sometimes smokes for the whole evening. In the youth growth, mother plays a very important role. And her words and actions will have direct impact on children. Influenced by his mother, Holden smokes heavily and easily gets nervous as well.

Holden almost hasn’t enjoyed happiness together with his parents. Since leaving Pencey, he dares not go home. When he comes back to visit his sister Phoebe, he sneakily slips into his home just like a thief to hide from his parents. In the whole novel, Holden’s father doesn’t show up at all, and his mother only appears once. when Holden hides in the closet and talks to Phoebe. His parents only take the responsibility to throw Holden from one school to another, they fail to perceive Holden’s inner thoughts and desire.

B. The Misguidance from School. Schools are institutions that provide knowledge and guidance to students, the relationship between students and schools

reflects the relationship between individual and society to some extent. Students not only gain knowledge in school, more importantly, they will learn how to behave as a true man. Only when school life should be happy and harmonious, can the students learn from each other, help each other, and make progress together. Yet at Pencey Prep. school, Holden deems it is not a beautiful place, but a hell full of lies and deceits. Holden describes the school ads as following:

They advertise in about a thousand magazines, always showing some hot-shot guy on a horse jumping over a fence. Like as if all you ever did at Pencey was play polo all the time. I never even once saw a horse anywhere near the place. And underneath the guy on the horse’s picture, it always says: “Since 1888 we have been molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men.” Strictly for the birds. They don’t do any damn more molding at Pencey than they do at any other school. And I didn’t know anybody there that was splendid and clear-thinking and all. Maybe two guys. If that may. And they probably came to Pencey that way. [8] (P4)

Holden loathes school. He feels the school is just filled with hypocrites. Apart from setting unreal life goals for students, school just has bad influence in series and teaches nothing. Prep. schools in the 1950s raise the requirement of “obey everything”, which gives students increasing pressure, all the boys and girls’ schools cater to the upper class. In reality, preparatory schools scheme students the strict work and rest time, students have to eat their meal, study lessons, go to the church, do exercise, even sleep at the stipulated time. Schools only indoctrinate students to become a big shot in the society, Holden can’t tolerate these tortuous rules. Yet one of Holden’s roommates points his problem— refusing to follow the crowd. Holden feels overloaded by being forced to obey these and be the same. So he rebels and decides to leave.

As for Holden’s teachers,he only admires the few good teachers, such as Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini. Mr. Spencer is a history teacher, around seventy years old. He is respectable in Holden’s heart. Before his wandering, Holden only says goodbye to Mr. Spencer for getting some help and advice. But from the visit, Holden receives a hard-hit. Mr. Spencer recapitulates Dr. Thurmer’s view that life is a game that one plays according to the rules. But Holden refuses the enlightenment education, sticks to his innocence. Then, Mr. Spencer takes out Holden’s exam paper and reads aloud to force Holden to listen regardless of his embarrassment. At this moment, Holden really feels that he is surrounded by phonies.

Mr. Antolini was Holden’s English teacher before, now works at New York university. He can drink a lot, and he is one of the few who is willing to communicate with and support Holden, so that Holden adores him. But when he attempts to persuade Holden to be mature, Holden feels bored and falls asleep. When wakes up, he finds Mr. Antolini groping his head. Thus, he thinks Mr. Antolini is gay and leaves hastily. Compared with parents, teachers’ responsibility is to cultivate and shape students to make their life better and meaningful. The role of Mr. Antolini makes up for Holden’s broken feeling from his father, yet to his disappointment, Mr. Antolini reveals hypocrisy, deception and corruption in the adult world towards Holden.

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C. A Wrong Tendency of Society. After the Second World War, the United States became a nation of growing material affluence, so the American middle class

enjoyed a high living standard. Without the plight of the Depression, American experienced a new boom of purchase and consumption. However, along with material wealth, Americans also got undesirable and even negative. The two world wars brought people severe psychic trauma. They doubted everything and their heart and mind were sorrowful. But in the other aspects, the great advancements in technology enabled people to speed up in their life. Moreover, the economical prosperity and the prevalence of materialism and consumerism made the American Dream distorted [9]. Later the generation became from bad to worse, known as the Beat Generation. Material success became the only goal in life for most Americans. All these terrible conditions explained the reason why the youth at that period is so pessimistic about their adulthood.

Holden’s dream becomes a catcher fully embodies that he is not willing to grow up. He would rather accompany with children. The frustrated spirit of the 1950s, and the befuddling indirection that Holden suffered encapsulates the confusion of a nation unsure of its future and that is why the novel is so popular with the postwar generation. Holden can’t find his own position and the value of his life. In the hard process of seeking love, Holden finds he is almost impossible to communicate with other adults. He strongly believe that adults are either selfish or folly and he has no interest in communication. Holden cannot build a bridge to the adult world, for example, once he tried to talk with Sally, he sadly finds she could not read his mind. Although Sally is an adult, she is keen on showing off her miniskirts and figure, not Holden’s spiritual pain.

Holden’s trip to New York brings him more “phonies” rather than peace, comfort and happiness. All “phonies” are rooted in lacking love, it can be seen from prostituting. Holden knows that offending others is impolite, so he treats prostitutes as the equal individuals not just a commodity. Before meeting the prostitute Sunny, he hasn’t understand the real meaning of “human”. Holden believes that people are indulging into material comforts. In the modern city, people lack love, break morality and become materialistic. Those like Holden seeking the value and spirit of life inevitably end with frustration and resentment. Holden disdains the money-controlling city, and curses deceive people for chasing the status. Therefore, it is understandable that he refuses to enter the adult world.

D. Failure of Identity-Seeking. Adolescence is the most complicated and tortured period in one’s life, people has to embark on a journey of exploring own

identity. The first and foremost is to achieve ego identity and make our future task more clear [10]. However, the journey to manhood is hard and painful for everyone. It requires one applies all he has learned in the past and shaped them for the only self-image. And the main tension in youth comes from the conflict between identity acquisition and identity crisis. During the process one would experience a series of identity crisis. No matter what role one plays and what work one does, he/she is unexceptionally troubled by his/her identity problem.

Holden, like most of the adolescents, is faced with the vital task of identity acquisition and experiencing the tension or growing painfulness at his key moment. He is trying to find out who he is and what he will become. But he fails to build his ego identity. Holden’s crisis results in the fact that he is confused about what he will be, or where he can go or live. From the novel, Holden seems to be excluded from and victimized by the world around him. As he asks about the question in the novel: “where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?” [8] (P16) Digging into the plot, Holden is worried about his destiny other than the ducks. He is just like the rootless ducks and wonders where he can go. He identifies the coldness in the winter with the indifference in the adult world, which is the main reason why he refuses to grow up and be a real man. When Holden visits Mr.Spencer, he flashes the direction in which the ducks have gone: “I wondered if some guy came in a truck and took them away to a zoo or something. Or if they just flew away” [8] (P16). To go to the zoo means the integration of the society and to fly away is to go for his own will―the catcher in the rye. Holden seems to be trapped in the dilemma and wants to deviate from the core to concern what way he to go: to be obedient or rebellious. In the novel, it describes Holden takes the wrong subway. This implies that he becomes lost, directionless, and distressed in the way to the adult world. Therefore, he heads for a rebellious road to begin his painful seeking for his identity and direction in the following journey.

IV. THE GUIDANCE TO THE YOUTH The growth of adolescents is accomplished in some certain surroundings, such as family environment, school environment

and social environment. Each of them can influence people, especially the youth. So parents and teachers should pay highly attention to adolescents. Family education is the foundation of education, and the beneficial supplement of school education and social education. We all need to attach importance to it. School education is the most important, for the most time adolescents spend is in school, which exerts great impact on youth’s physical and mental development. Social education trains the youth adaptability and application ability. Only when these three educations jointly work, can the youth gains a meaningful and colorful growth and a good development from childhood to adulthood.

A. Positive Family Education. Home is the place where people live and feel that they belong, and where people are cared for by their families. There is a

close relationship between the method of parenting and adolescents characteristics. Positive family education will subtly help adolescents form self-esteem and gain strong interpersonal skills. In addition, the warmth and close family relationship will give children the sense of belonging and security. However, from Holden’s family and his initiation, we can see unhealthy family relationships will give rise to teenagers misbehavior and even rebellion, so will the wrong education ways.

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Holden can not feel care or get support from his parents for various aspects.

In the relationship aspect, all can easily know the fact that Holden’s mother knows little of her kids. They are just the most unfamiliar relatives.When Holden slips back home at night after being kicked out of Pency Prep. school, he prepares to pack his luggage for the little vocation. One thing about packing depressed him:

I had to pack these brand-new ice skates my mother had practically just sent me a couple of days before. That depressed me. I could see my mother going in Spaulding’ s and asking the salesman a million dopy questions—and here I was getting the ax...... She bought me the wrong kind of skates—I wanted racing skates and she bought hockey...... [8] (P58)

From this little business, we can see Mrs. Caulfield doesn’t care about Holden too much and even seldom has communications with him.Without being occupied with work matters, Mrs. Caulfield should have devoted all herself to take care of her children both physically and mentally, such as strengthen the parent-children communication, and respect for children. Moreover, being a mother, she should have a attitude of deep love to her kids.

Mr. Caulfield also doesn’t take his responsibility as a father because he is always busy in his job and seldom spends spare time with his children. In the novel, he tends to get angry for Phoebe often says “Daddy’ ll kill you!” [8] (P182) when Holden makes mistakes. The relationship between him and his children is rather bad, to some extent, just like teacher and students. So the conflicts among them are unavoidable, and which renders Holden to run away. Parents should have been tireless guardians, keen on offering meticulous care and attention so that their children can lead successful careers and lives. But they both fails for their every kid, especially in the vital period.

Other family members exert great impact on adolescents as well. D. B. is Holden’s elder brother who has a great gift of writing. Holden admires him and takes him as a model. But when Holden knows his brother works for money just as a prostitute, he hates D. B. and movies for the connection between D. B. and Hollywood. In Holden’s heart, he still loves D. B. although he has already become a prostitute of Hollywood. So this plays a great influence on Holden’s paradoxical behavior. More, Allie’s premature death and grandmother’s bad memory lead Holden feel lack of belonging and attachment.

In education, Mr. Caulfield emphasizes the importance of study and belittles other aspects that children are interested in. He wants Holden to follow his way to be a lawyer, so he sends Holden to outstanding schools at any cost regardless of his son’s feeling. In the other hand, Mrs. Caulfield doesn’t give enough consideration and supervision to Holden. All these give rise to Holden’s inarticulateness and other character defects.

Family education should put the first place in cultivating the sound character of teenagers. Parents need to set a good example to exert a subtle influence on their children, so as to guide the children to succeed and develop their sense of social responsibility, such as educate teenagers actively participate in household chores, work independently and bravely, and appeal them to participate in social practice activities. What’s more, train adolescents’ quotient to dare to face with challenges and guide teenagers set ambitious goals and then create a moderate circumstances to test teenagers psychological quality and learn to calm down when facing setbacks.

B. Quality-Oriented School Education. It is known to us all, school education is vital to people. The basic views everyone must acquire—the outlook of life, world

and values—all would be taught systematically and roundly in schools. And school dose not only teach knowledge, but educates students to a all-round development human. School education is superior to the society development, that is, school education should not only adapt to social development, but also be ahead of the social development. In that way, school education should foster students skills to adapt to the society and carry through quality-oriented education. Only by that can the students process a meaningful and positive life.

However, in Pencey Prep. , Holden hardly learns something useful or meaningful. The things he only learns from the narrow teachers are boring courses and hidebound school rules. The schools have the final say to students depending on the academic performance. And most teachers educate students in stereotype way and ignore the so-called bad parts. Holden is one of them. But there are two different teacher whom educate and influence Holden. One is Mr. Spencer. Before Holden leaves Pency, he visits Spencer’ s to say goodbye. What is unexpected is that he becomes more depressed and knows clearly the teacher. Spencer repeats his bad paper and teaches the dull lecture again, his tone is so sarcastic to Holden in that moment that it really hurts Holden’s sensitive heart.

From above mentioned, a good teacher should be the one who can expand students’ advantages and encourage them to climb up rather than restless lecturing and depreciating. Moreover, teachers should integrate compassion with forbearance. Only by sufficient communication, love and patience, can teachers gain students’ respect and adoration. And so much that students can realize their shortcomings and mistakes, consciously correct themselves and achieve self education.

The other is Mr. Antolini, who is so friendly that Holden regards him as his friend and is willing to share his happiness and sorrow with him. But that Antolini’s behaves like a gay frightens Holden. Thus, the last adult helper and growth teacher breaks Holden’s back.

From Mr. Antolini, it’s necessary to set up an equal, democratic and harmonious relationship with students. If teachers become students’ friends or companions, they can get the trust and love from the teenagers. Furthermore, they can get the inner

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communication with students. More importantly, teachers should set themselves examples to students, which is more convincing than the precept.

Apart from these two teachers, other people in the school Holden stays in are all phony, such as his roommate Stradlater, the principal Dr. Thurmer. Actually, the school should apply the principle of combining objectives management with incentive measures, help teenagers to set goals, promote students’ learning motivation and mental consciousness, and guide teenagers overcome learning difficulties by their own. Then, pointing out the social wrong tendency, school ought to guide the youth to think of and put up their suggestions or ideas. Teenagers’ consciousness is fragile, so it’s necessary for teachers to inspect, supervise and motivate students in the education work.

C. Personality Development-Oriented Social Education. The social environment is important for teenagers’ quality education as well. In order to improve teenagers’ quality education,

the key is to optimize the social environment.

The novel was published in the 1950s when it was exactly after the Second World War. At that time, US government carried out the policy of Cold War. Under the control of McCarthyism civics’ democratic rights were badly threatened. Therefore, many people eliminated noble beliefs and lost life goals. They killed most time by chatting, drinking, dancing, fighting and sleeping. This is the reason why they are regarded as “the lost generation”. Many people held a doubtful attitude to moral standards and value. The youth felt the world was hostile, unknowable, and ridiculous. And they were lonely. In the meanwhile, with the great advancements in technology, people were occupied by the material and money. So that detachment and indifference gradually show up, people changed their thought and life. These all influenced youth’s growth in that period.

Taking Holden’s growth, he is infatuated with his childhood and wants to protect all the children from being mature and phony. The museum is the best example. In Holden’s point of view, the best part of museum is that nothing changes and it will last forever. At the same time, he gradually realizes that there’s no way to prevent the step of growth. He still searches for his identity of being an adult, he is paradoxical and puzzling:

Then a funny thing happened. When I got to the museum, all of a sudden I wouldn’t have gone inside for a million bucks. It just didn’t appeal to me — and here I’d walked through the whole goddam park and looked forward to it and all. If Phoebe’ d been here, I probably would have, but she wasn’t. [8] (P136)

This reveals Holden himself doesn’t know why he gets such feeling. The truth behind this mood comes from the dubious psychology which means adolescents are always swinging from one side to the other. The sides are their childhood and adulthood. In this choice, Holden feel uncertain and is frightened the phony in the adult world. Holden can not receive care from both schools and society, so he fails to bridge a connection between his image world with the real world, resulting in incoherence in his growth. It is advised to adapt to the changing surrounding for adolescents to maintain flexible identity.

Meanwhile, the society should be conducive to developing individual personality and practical skills. It’s known to us all, the higher social education status is, the greater impact it has. As a result, the social environment has a direct influence on the youth initiation. From Holden’s initiation, social education should actively create a harmonious social atmosphere, such as putting up corresponding theory education and education activities. For example, make the youth adapt to the real society in which they live, then from their own observation and analysis, the teenagers develop a sense of collectivism, dedication and generosity in the social environment and social activities. Then the government should strictly control the publication of audio and video products, and the regulation of the Internet, newspapers and magazines to block the harm pollution sources for adolescents. At the same time, the teenagers should have access to the learning resource, such as museums, libraries, exhibition hall for free. Strengthening social emotional education is also important. The teenagers psychology lectures or communication conference should be launched face to face to effectively help them overcome ill psychological obstacle. Or schools could carry out the vacation education in the form of community activities, such as social work experience, love education, Thanksgiving education and patriotism education and so on. Through a variety of meaningful and wonderful education activities, teenagers can feel the true meaning of morality and life, and get breakthrough in their spirit and capability.

V. CONCLUSION Growth is a basic and inevitable part in people’s life, and will leave an unforgettable memory for everyone. The Catcher in the

Rye is a classic novel of growth.Salinger employs his vivid description skill to make a movie to us by showing the youth spiritual crisis and pain when into the adult world. Holden, a 16-year-old teenager, is in the key period of growth. As we all know, education is very important in the adolescent growth. More important, the family education, school education and social education must be incorporated .

This paper analyzes Holden’s growth to explore the youth initiation. At home, Holden lacks his parents’ care and understanding. In the school, he has no friends and social circle. He feels tired the courses and life. So he steppes into the adult world on the sneak. During the three-day journey, Holden finds it also full of phonies or even more dreadful outside. He becomes depressed and confused. These all results from his abortive education delivered by family, school and society, he gets lost in the world. Holden finally breaks down in mentality, and is sent to psychiatric hospital for treatment, but he begins to learn to adapt to the society [11]. Nowadays, the rapid development of economy provides us increasingly comfortable material life, however, people ignore the cultural and spiritual pursuit, especially for the youth, they are ready to step into the outside world, and they can

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easily trapped in the wrong direction. Taking Holden’s growth as an example, pay more attention to adolescents, families, schools and the whole society all need.

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